According to Banque Du Liban (BDL) statistics, the consolidated balance sheet of financial institutions operating in Lebanon narrowed by 3.07% ($36.04 million) during the first two months of 2021 to $1,136.41 million, down from $1,172.45 million at year-end 2020. This can be mainly attributed to the 6.42% ($20.81 million) contraction in claims on the resident financial sector to $303.07 million, coupled with some 3.71% ($18.29 million) decrease in claims on customers to $474.69 million and a 6.75% ($0.90 million) drop in the value of other assets to $12.42 million, altogether outweighing the 8.87% ($5.69 million) increase in cash and deposits with central banks to $69.86 million and the 1.95% ($1.43 million) rise in the value of securities portfolio to $75.07 million. It is worth noting that claims on customers and on the resident financial sector are the two largest asset categories on financial institutions’ balance sheet, accounting for 41.77% and 26.67% of total assets on a respective basis. On the liabilities side, liabilities to the resident financial sector plunged by 13.78% ($21.66 million) YTD February 2021 to $135.55 million, with capital accounts falling by 4.65% ($21.58 million) to $442.16 million, and customer deposits decreasing by 9.98% ($15.99 million) to $144.19 million, altogether outweighing the 11.71% ($25.40 million) rise in other liabilities to $242.34 million.